The One That Got Away
by gabbi3
Summary: Set five years after they graduate high school. Rekindling Puck and Santana. - Chapter 5: Enigma: Let her remain as the enigma that she's always been to him.
1. Prologue

**THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY**

**Prologue**

"Mercedes is looking at us," Santana whispered to Puck's ear.

He pulled away from kissing her neck and looked at her questioningly. "Who's Mercedes?"

"You know… chubby… from glee." She blew up her cheeks to demonstrate.

He raised an eyebrow and looked Mercedes' way. He then shot Santana an annoyed glare. "First, who cares? Second, I still can't get over the fact that you're on this stupid glee club. First, Finn… Now you?"

"Come on. I told you why we're doing this… It was all Quinn's idea and Sue is totally up for it and it's always a good thing for a Cheerio to be on Sue Sylvester's good side."

"You don't enjoy it at all then?"

_Actually, I kinda do, but… _Santana made a face. "Of course not. We're just there to sabotage the glee club, so we could get all our Cheerios perks back."

Puck didn't appear like he was convinced. "So since when do we care that chubby over there is looking at us?"

"I don't. I just think she's jealous… of you know… how hot we are together." Santana placed a hand behind his neck and pulled him closer, teasing his lips with hers.

"Oh?" He grinned naughtily.

"Uh-huh. I think maybe we could use that against her," Santana shrugged as she continued to kiss him, while glancing at Mercedes from the corner of her eye.

"You're evil, you know that?" He told her, a wide smile spread across his face, as he looked down on her hazelnut brown gaze.

Santana smiled and winked in response.

"I like it." Puck stole another kiss before pulling away from her, his hands still clasping hers. "See you later?"

She shook her head. "I can't. I told you already… the glee club is going to meet up with Dakota Stanley…"

He stared at her quizzically. "Yeah, yeah… This is just part of your wicked plan to bring glee club down right?"

She nodded sweetly and was thankful when he broke into a smile and said, "Okay. Tomorrow then," before letting go of her hands and heading off to find his friends.

Santana kept her eyes on him as he walked away.

They've been an item since they started dating during their freshman year. Santana had gotten into the relationship with him for two reasons: one, the popularity; two, she found him hot – come on, who doesn't? Their on-and-off and, most of the time, "open" relationship was always good ground for school gossip. At first, Santana didn't care. She liked the attention. But now, she found it strange that after they got back on again, Santana began to wonder if that was all there was to their relationship – food for gossip... a relationship never to be taken seriously.

As she began looking for Quinn and Brittany, she once again ignored that nagging feeling inside her that was telling her that she had already gone beyond the just-for-fun, for-popularity's-sake, nothing-serious stage of their relationship… and she had no idea when, how, or why.

* * *

"You're breaking up with me?!" Puck burst at her, his eyes betraying his confusion. "Why?!"

Santana stood her ground, raised an eyebrow and lifted the piece of paper containing the information she had gotten online. "You have a terrible credit score. What I need as a woman is financial security."

"Huh?"

She might as well have been speaking an alien language because the look on Puck's face was telling her that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

Santana breathed out an exasperated sigh. "Let me make it simple for you, Puck. A deadbeat like you can't afford me as your girlfriend."

Puck's appearance changed from bewilderment to irritation. With his brows furrowed, he sneered at her. "Afford you? I wasn't aware that you were for sale," he said coldly.

Her jaw tightened. His words stung, but she refused to show any sign of weakness. It took all her will power to fake indifference by rolling her eyes and smirking at him. "Whatever, Puck. Call me when you actually make something of yourself." With that, Santana walked away, half-wishing that he would run after her, half-wishing that she would never have to see him again.

She had to get away from Noah Puckerman before he could break her heart.

* * *

"But you like Puck," Brittany said wryly after Santana told her in a very blunt manner that she had broken up with him.

_Like him?! I'm falling for him! _Santana closed her locker and faced Brittany. "So?"

"So…" Brittany trailed before leaning on the locker beside Santana's. "I don't get it."

_Neither do I, _Santana thought before heaving a sigh. "The guy's a total loser. There's no future with him. You should've seen his credit report. There is no way that Puck can keep up with my needs." _I can't believe I'm actually sticking with this story, _Santana winced.

Brittany responded with the typical doe-eyed semi-blank expression that she was so well-known for. "Credit report?"

Santana grimaced. "You know what? Let's just drop it, okay?"

There was no masking Brittany's puzzlement. "Drop what?"

Being known for her quick temper, Santana was almost considering grabbing her best friend's head and shaking it wildly. Perhaps, by a long shot, that would help fix Brittany's brain a little. Instead, she just gave Brittany a stare that spelled _You totally missed the point._

Already familiar with that particular stare, Brittany muttered, "Oh okay," although Santana was sure that she still had no idea what the point was.

"I still don't get it," Brittany piped up, confirming Santana's suspicions.

"Don't get what?" Mike showed up, Matt trailing behind him.

"Santana broke up with Puck," Brittany said like it was the most normal piece of information.

Mike chuckled, placing his arm over Brittany's shoulder. "Again?"

"For real this time," Brittany interjected before Santana could squeeze in a word.

"Brittany!" Santana hissed, casting an evil glare at her best friend.

"You were just faking it the last few break-ups?" Mike asked.

Ignoring Mike, Matt's brow arched with curiosity, as he walked in on the conversation. He shot a look at Santana. "When did this happen?"

"I don't know. Two weeks ago?" Santana replied, still wondering if she should punch Brittany in the face for divulging the information she kept for weeks in a matter of minutes.

"No wonder Puck's been acting weird lately," Mike thought out loud.

This got Santana's curiosity. "Weird? How?"

Mike and Matt exchanged glances, before Mike answered, "For one thing, he hasn't been hanging out with us. He's always saying that he's busy with his pool-cleaning business or whatever."

"Pool-cleaning? This is Ohio," Santana cut in.

Matt nodded. "Yeah. Weird, right?"

"Why is that weird?" Brittany interrupted. All three pairs of eyes just gave her a look that told her she wasn't about to get an explanation from any of them.

Santana really didn't understand what she felt over finding out about Puck going on some sort of business. Was he trying to prove himself to her? _Perhaps that's why he hasn't even bothered calling me or talking to me… He's busy. _"Anything else?" she asked, casting her thoughts away.

"Well, he joined Coach Ken's singing group…" Mike added before turning to Matt. "What did they call that again?"

Matt shrugged.

"No way…" Santana blurted out. "Acafellas?! With Mr. Schue?"

"Yeah," Mike nodded. "That."

Santana's brows creased. She wasn't even aware that Puck could sing. He's been on her case all the time ever since she decided to go along with Quinn's plan and joined glee. Now, he goes off and joins a boy band. For some reason, that really got into Santana's nerves.

"Word is they'll be performing at this Friday's PTA meeting," Matt informed.

"We're going to watch. Want to come with?" Mike invited.

Santana considered it for a few moments, musing if she should let her curiosity win out on this one. _No. What's the point? _She cringed and made a face. "No thanks. Watching my ex make a fool of himself is not my ideal way of spending a Friday night." She breathed out a sigh, as she repeated, in her mind, the mantra she's been saying to herself since she broke up with Puck: _Let go of him, Santana. It's over._

* * *

Quinn's eyes were on Finn. Puck's eyes were on Quinn.

Santana knew because she's been glancing back and forth from Puck to Quinn the entire duration of the football game. She didn't know what she was more upset about – that Puck obviously had a thing for Quinn or the pain that the realization was causing her.

_When the heck did this happen? _Santana asked herself.

"You okay?" Quinn asked as the football team returned to the field after Finn called an unexpected timeout with just one second left into the game.

Santana kept her eyes on the field, not being able to stand one of her best friends at that particular moment. "Perfect," she replied curtly.

"What's with the attitude?" Quinn pried.

Before Santana could answer, "Single Ladies" began playing.

"No. Freaking. Way." Santana's mouth dropped wide open when the football team began dancing.

"I love this song!" Brittany squealed, as she mimicked the steps to the song.

Santana looked over at Quinn who was laughing and trying to hide it by covering her face with her pompoms. Obviously, everyone was finding it amusing – except for Santana who was bothered as hell.

_What is going on? First, he's singing at PTA meetings. Now, he's dancing to Beyonce. _The scowl on Santana's face showed how she was feeling. _The world has turned upside down._

It didn't help Santana's disposition that their dance routine actually helped win the game – after Kurt, who really was nothing but additional reason to be baffled, won them the game.

When she saw Puck – like a lovesick puppy – glancing at Quinn who was now kissing Finn, Santana remembered why she was so ticked off in the first place.

"That is it!" she exclaimed before making her way to Puck, ignoring the frantic Cheerios and football players celebrating and hugging around her. "Hey, Puck!" she yelled at Puck, causing him to turn around and face her.

Puck flashed his typical self-confident smile upon seeing her. "Hey, baby."

"Don't 'baby' me, Puck. What's up with you and Quinn?"

He sneered. "Why? You jealous?"

Santana placed her hands over her hips and raised an eyebrow at him. "She's my best friend, Puck." She wanted to wipe the arrogant smirk off his face.

"One, I don't know what you're talking about. Two, even if I did know, we're not together anymore, and even when we were, we agreed that we could date anyone we want. Three, who cares if Quinn is your best friend? We're over now. Everyone is fair game."

"She's also your best friend's girlfriend, you idiot."

"And that's who she's with now," Puck said knowingly, raising his shoulders for emphasis. "Really, Santana… what's got your panties all a twist?"

Santana had no idea how to respond so she just stomped her foot on the ground, and blew out a sigh through gritted teeth.

"You broke up with me, Santana," Puck said, before turning away from her. "Get a grip."

Santana felt the unfamiliar emotion of regret wash over her – she wasn't sure, however, if it was because he just made her feel stupid for reacting the way she did or if it was because she wished she hadn't broken up with him in the first place.

* * *

There was that rumor that Puck was getting it on with a bunch of women representing Lima's very own version of desperate housewives. Then there was that time when he obviously had something going on with April Rhodes during her short stint at McKinley.

Santana was trying not to get bothered by it all. _In time, it won't matter,_ she told herself. And for a while, it didn't, until something she totally did not expect happened.

"I've been working on something," Puck announced, holding the guitar in his hands. Santana had been wondering what he'd been doing with the jazz band when she entered the rehearsal room. She was about to find out. "It's my personal tribute to musical Jewish icon."

"Alright! Fantastic! Let's hear it," Mr. Schue said as he took a seat amongst the rest of the glee members.

Puck began playing the guitar.

At first, Santana was dumbfounded upon realizing how talented he actually was. _After a year of dating him, how could I have missed this? _She thought as he continued to sing the words to the Neil Diamond song.

Then it struck her as she continued to observe him. Santana followed the direction of his eyes and creased her brows when she realized who he was singing to… _Rachel Berry?!_

It was at that very moment when Santana felt like she had made a huge mistake when she let Noah Puckerman get away.


	2. Auction

_**A/N: Okay. Finally hit 80 visitors on the Prologue. Here's the next chapter. I'll figure out a different benchmark before putting each chapter up. (Like you needed to know that. O.O) Anyway…**_

* * *

**Auction**

_Graduation day._

_It was a day to remember for everyone who were present at the event – even more so for the 12 original members of New Directions._

_They've gone a long way since they started as a rather awkward bunch of sophomores singing show tunes and generally being bullied by the entire student population of McKinley High._

_Now, they were the lead singers of the now 25 members of the glee club. They were also the current champion of show choir competition nationals._

_During the graduation ceremony, the original 12 delivered some of their most memorable performances in a manner that everyone in the audience found quite riveting. Everyone could tell that each song held a specific memory to each of the 12 teenagers singing before them._

_By the time they began singing "Keep Holding On", most of them already had tears on their eyes._

_They've been through a lot together and the bonds they created over the past years had stood strong, so the thought of this possibly being the last time they were going to sing together brought tears even to Mr. Schue's eyes._

_There were, however, two dry pairs of eyes among the glee clubbers – that of Noah Puckerman and Santana Lopez. It wasn't that they weren't moved, saddened or affected by it all. Crying in public just wasn't their thing._

_After the ceremony, while every one began hugging, reminiscing and trying to hold back even more bittersweet tears, Puck stepped out of the auditorium into the fresh summer air._

_"Puck." A voice from behind him said, stepping beside him and glancing at him. "Hey."_

_He turned his head toward the voice. It was Santana. "Sup, babe?"_

_She wrinkled her nose. "Just taking a breath. It's getting too emotional in there for me."_

_Puck grinned. "Tell me about it." He took a closer look at Santana. It's been a long time since he got to talk to her alone. They were still friends – with glee and all – but in some ways, they've gone their separate paths over the years and though they were, in essence, the same people, much have changed. 'Still,' he thought, 'we are so much alike – Santana and I.'_

_"So __New York__, huh?" Santana asked, breaking the short comfortable silence._

_Puck nodded. "Rachel got into Juilliard. Since I don't want to get stuck here, I might as well move to __New York__ with her and try my luck out there."_

_"Who would've thought? You and Rachel Berry…" Santana sighed to which Puck only smiled in response. "No plans to go to college?" she proceeded to ask._

_"Nah. School never was for me. I'll be fine winging it. How 'bout you, Lopez? __California__ heh?"_

_She nodded her head excitedly. "It will be a blast. With Brit, Mike, Matt and I rooming together and all that."_

_"What exactly are you guys planning to do there? Missed most of what Mike said when he announced it to us guys."_

_"Well, Matt's taking up business administration at UCLA. He could've gotten to other universities, but wanted to be with us, so…" Santana shrugged. "Brit, Mike and I will try to get some work to, you know, save up for a year or so. Then we'll try to get into a dance program of some sort."_

_"Sounds like a plan," Puck retorted, shifting his eyes forward._

_"Yep," she nodded, seeming satisfied._

_"This is, huh? We all move on?"_

_A bitter smile formed on her lips and Puck missed the fond look she shot his way. "Puck?"_

_"Yeah?" He said, turning his head toward her._

_She leaned over and kissed him. Her lips lingered for a while and he stood surprised, admittedly liking the taste of her lips against his._

_When she pulled away from him, he looked at her questioningly. "What the - You shouldn't have done that. Rachel could've…"_

_Santana nodded. "I know. Sorry. I just…" she paused. "This may be the last time I see you and I just… I don't know. I wanted to kiss you goodbye."_

_It was then that Puck realized that he really did miss her – she was, after all, his first girlfriend, perhaps even his first love._

_She smiled at him, the blush on her cheeks revealing her embarrassment. "Goodbye, Puck." That was when she began walking back to the auditorium._

_'Goodbye' he thought, biting his lip to find the taste of her lips still lingering there. His past had just walked away from him._

_

* * *

_

**Five years later…**

Friday night. Just before sunset Lima, Ohio.

"Come on, Santana. Just this once. Tonight's the last night."

Santana raised her eyes to get a better look at the pretty redhead standing on top of the bar, green eyes pleading at her. "For the nth time, Haley," she huffed, "No. Freaking. Way."

Haley made a face before crossing her arms over her chest. "No fair."

Santana only chuckled in response as she continued to wipe the wine glasses dry. She had no idea who came up with having a Coyote Ugly night at the bar, but it apparently became a hit the first time they did it, so they repeated it for a five-night run – just in time to welcome Santana who decided to help out with the bartending that particular week.

The whole Coyote Ugly thing explains why Synch's three waitresses were standing on top of the bar a few hours before it opens, goading Santana into joining them to perform at least one number.

"Why not, Santana? Just once. All of us waitresses have to do it and the bartenders have been really game about being auctioned off," Candy, the feisty brunette, was referring to Jason, Brad and Ryan, who Santana was helping tend the bar.

"Yeah," Jaci, the blonde completing the trifecta of Synch waitresses, piped in. "And you're an awesome dancer. Plus Matt says you have a great singing voice."

The mention of her best friend caused Santana to roll her eyes and breathe out a sigh. It was Matt who got her into this whole thing in the first place.

He had opened Synch in Lima just less than a year ago right after he graduated from college. It had been and still is a raving success, so it was expected that other opportunities for expansion would come around. So when he received a call from some friend of his to look into the possibility of putting up a Synch bar in LA, he didn't want to pass it up.

Of course, being a bit overprotective of his 'baby' (which was what he called the bar), he didn't want to leave it at any of his employees' hands. So he went to Santana for help.

She had been hesitant to say yes at first because being found nightly at one of Lima's most hyped up night spots wasn't exactly a good match with her line of work, but when he promised not only to pay her, but also to bring her a brand new outfit from LA complete with an all-day-at-the-spa treat, it was an offer she simply couldn't resist.

Even though she's changed over the past few years, one thing that didn't change was her love for pampering herself – and Matt knew it.

So there she was, being convinced by three gorgeous girls in skimpy outfits to join them as they dance on top of a bar in front of a bunch of drunken men. While she would've found this a fun thing to do when she was in high school, there was no way they could make her do it now. God forbid anyone who knew her would see her behind the bar – much less dancing on top of it.

_The things you put me through, __Rutherford__, _Santana thought as she looked up at the three girls, putting on her serious game face. "Let me clear things out here. One, I'm not an employee here. Two, I'm here to take over Matt's responsibilities – which is being boss. Three, I am not going to dance Coyote Ugly style. You simply can't make me."

"But you already danced Coyote Ugly style when you taught us the steps," Haley reasoned out, staring blankly into space.

Candy nudged Haley who turned her eyes toward Santana.

The look on Santana's face was enough to tell them that she meant business. After all these years, Santana – once McKinley High's head Cheerio – could still intimidate her peers with a single glare.

* * *

"Santana Lopez, everyone!" Candy announced.

The packed crowd at Synch went crazy – especially the men who have been coming in frequently and asking if the pretty Latina behind the bar was ever going to perform.

Coyote Ugly nights at Synch have always proven to be a huge frenzy, filling the bar up to its maximum capacity with men who got a kick out of watching the three waitresses perform and from women – mostly cougars – interested to find company (and willing to pay for it) from one of the three male studs behind the bar, who got auctioned off.

Santana had been pulling her own weight behind the bar all night. Haley, Candy and Jaci were little to no help because during these nights, their work consisted mostly of dancing on top of the bar and with the place full, Santana and the other three bartenders had their plates full.

So it wasn't at all surprising when Santana looked like she was about to strangle someone upon hearing Candy announce her name over the microphone.

She cast Candy a cold glare. "We've talked about this," she hissed.

Candy smiled sweetly before shrugging. "Boss's orders."

Santana furrowed her brows in confusion. Candy made a sideway glance and Santana followed her gaze. Amongst the crowd stood Matt with a wicked smile on his face.

Santana stared daggers at him. _You're so dead, _she mouthed at him, before yelling "No!" at Candy.

The crowd caught wind of what was happening and upon seeing that she was refusing to get on top of the bar, began chanting her name. "Santana! Santana! Santana!"

"Come on, girl," Brad nudged her. "The crowd is calling for you. The three of us can manage. Just one performance. What could happen?"

Santana scowled at him and rolled her eyes, getting pressured by the frantic crowd screaming her name and the expectant looks on her Synch co-worker's faces. "Fine. Ugh. That outfit Matt bribed me with had better be gorgeous."

Candy and Brad grinned as they helped her up the bar.

Hoots and cheers came from all over the bar when they saw Santana finally concede. Santana waited for the music to play, just wanting to get the whole thing over with. However, what Candy said next made her jaw drop.

"Bidding for Santana Lopez starts at 100 dollars!"

"Wait," Santana began to protest. Auctions weren't up until later into the night, and she definitely did not agree to get auctioned off to a bunch of drunken men. "What?! Candy, what are you doing?"

Candy ignored her. "Come on, guys! Who has 100 dollars?!"

"One hundred dollars!" a voice called from the crowd.

"What?!" Santana protested. "Wait. No…"

"Great!" Candy exclaimed. "Do I hear a 150?!"

Santana began searching for Matt in the room. He wasn't where he last saw her. She was getting more and more anxious by the minute as the bidding continued.

"Three hundred dollars!" someone called out.

Santana turned her eyes toward the voice. Relief washed over her. At the right side of the room stood Matt, Mike and Brittany standing beside him, waving at her. Mike had his thumbs up at her, mouthing "Relax. It's okay."

Despite her anxiety, Santana squealed with delight upon seeing two of her other best friends. She found herself relaxing a little bit more.

"Santana seems happy," Candy remarked with a grin, also relaxing a little bit because she felt somewhat more secure that there was a chance Santana wouldn't kill her. "So we have 300 dollars people! Can anyone top that?!"

Four hundred dollars have been the most they got during an auction – some woman outbid everyone for a night out with Brad.

"I got five hundred dollars!" a voice from the back of the room bellowed.

Santana's mouth dropped open. She squinted her eyes to see who it was to no avail. _What the… who was that?"_

"Six hundred dollars!" Mike called out.

Santana looked at him thankfully.

"One thousand!" came the voice again.

The anxiety was coming back and Santana was beginning to tune out all the noise as she tried to breathe in and out to control her nervousness.

It was Candy's voice that broke her bubble. "One thousand five hundred! Can you believe that?! Sold! To the man at the back!"

"No… wait…" Santana whimpered, but it was too late. She shot a desperate look at Matt who looked just about as shocked as she was.

The man with the winning bid was called forward. Santana didn't think that she could be more in shock than she already was. She was wrong. Moving toward her, squeezing against the people overcrowding the bar was a familiar face.

_Puck?!_

Santana looked like she'd just seen a ghost when he handed Candy the money, climbed up the bar, pulled her against him and kissed her.

* * *

When Puck woke up the next morning, he had no idea where he was.

_What happened?! w_as the first thing on his mind. The throbbing inside his head told him that he was about to have the mother of all hangovers.

He then realized that he wasn't alone when someone stirred on the bed beside him.

Vague recollections of the night before came back. Santana Lopez. Auction. Coyote ugly.

He found it strange that he still remembered Santana's explanation of what coyote ugly meant –

_Did you ever wake up sober after a one night stand, and the person you're next to is layin' on your arm, and they're so ugly, you'd rather chew off your arm then risk waking 'em? That's coyote ugly._

He smiled smugly. _This is Santana I'm with. No way is this a coyote ugly moment. _He turned to the woman beside him. His stomach turned as he scowled in disbelief.

_This isn't Santana! Ugh… coyote ugly indeed._

_

* * *

_

_**A/N: Disclaimers!**_

_**First, I don't own Glee or any of its characters - bummer.**_

_**Second, this chapter has some references to the movie Coyote Ugly (which I also don't own - bummer again). *Thanks to IMDB for reminding me of the exact quote that I needed from the movie.**_

_**Third, each chapter will begin with a flashback from the past followed by the present events (which is actually the future, because it's five years after they all graduate from high school). Was that explanation confusing? Don't worry… You're not alone. I got confused too. **_

_**Oh, and finally, tell me what you think. Leave a review. It's the right thing to do.  
**_


	3. The Auction Aftermath

_**A/N: 102 visitors on Auction. Yay.**_

**_My take on Quinn and Santana's friendship... Hope you like it!_**

* * *

**The Auction Aftermath**

_(Before Lean on Me) _

_After Quinn discovered Puck and Santana's 'sexts'..._

_Santana and Matt were chatting by Santana's locker when Quinn tentatively approached, lightly tapping Santana on the shoulder. Quinn winced a little as she bit her lower lip, afraid that her best friend might lash out on her again over the entire baby-sitting-with-Puck scenario._

_Santana turned to look her way and, upon seeing her, raised a discriminating eyebrow. "What?"_

_"Could we have a talk?" Quinn dared to ask._

_Santana glanced at Matt, who nodded to indicate that it was fine with him. Santana looked back at Quinn. "Okay. Where to?"_

_Quinn led Santana to the empty rehearsal room and graciously pulled out a seat for Santana before taking a seat herself._

_"Well?" Santana asked, brows raised expectantly._

_"What happened to us, Ana?" Quinn inquired softly, using the nickname she gave Santana when they were three years old, because she couldn't pronounce 'Santana' properly._

_Santana shrugged. "You tell me, Quinn."_

_"Is this still about Puck? I've noticed that you've been kind of avoiding me ever since the 'Single Ladies' football game." A slight smile came over Quinn's lips at the recollection of that certain event, but quickly snapped her attention back to Santana. "Am I just being paranoid?"_

_Santana smirked. "I've been avoiding you? Really, Quinn? 'Coz you know what... last time I checked, I'm not the one who's been stuck to my boyfriend all the frickin' time..."_

_"Come on, Ana. You know that's just because of the pregnancy," Quinn defended herself._

_"Yeah?" Santana interjected. "Since we're on the topic of your pregnancy, Quinn, let's get this out in the open already. I'm your best friend, Quinn, and I had to find out that you're pregnant from Puck. Can you believe that?! Puck! Puck of all people! How could you have told my ex-boyfriend about your pregnancy and not have told me?! I mean, come on... last time I talked to you about Finn, you were swearing that nothing was going on with you and him, then suddenly, you're pregnant! Like it's magic!"_

_"Ana, please understand... I had my reasons for not telling. And it wasn't even me who told Puck. It was Finn. You know how I can't stand Puck. I..."_

_"Can't stand Puck?" Santana interrupted. "I'm not blind, Quinn. I see the way he looks at you during rehearsals. I saw both of you walk out of the home ec room covered in baking powder. I see the two of you having these hushed conversations across the hallway - it's like you two have some secret love affair of sorts. So really... you can't stand him?"_

_Quinn was about to respond, but she had barely even opened her mouth when Santana continued her tirade. "Let's clear this out, Fabray. Number one - Puck may be my 'ex'- boyfriend, but you of all people should know the way I feel about him. Number two - you are carrying Finn's baby, so explain to me why exactly you're still flirting around with Puck?!"_

_"That's just it, okay! It's not Finn's baby!" Quinn burst out before she could stop herself. She clasped her hands over her mouth when she realized what she had just done._

_Santana had her mouth hanging open, her mind reeling, trying to make sense of what Quinn had just said. "What? Then who is?"_

_"Ana, please... It was a mistake... Believe me..." Tears were brimming Quinn's eyes._

_Her reaction was enough to give Santana the answer to her question. "Wait... do the math with me here..." Santana said. "That would mean..."_

_Quinn nodded remorsefully. "You were still with him," Quinn revealed. "Finn and I had a fight. You and Puck were 'off' that time. And things got out of hand... I'm so sorry, Ana. I couldn't tell you. It made me feel so bad. I knew how you felt about him... I did... and..." Tears were now running down her cheeks, her eyes begging for Santana to understand how guilty she felt over the whole matter. "Ana..." she whispered, holding Santana's hand._

_Santana pushed her hand away. "Don't call me that. You disgust me, Quinn." Santana stood up._

_"I'm sorry. I really am."_

_"Yeah? You should be." Santana eyed her disdainfully from head to foot before walking away._

_Quinn was sure about two things as she watched Santana leave. One - that Santana would definitely reveal her secret to everyone as a way of getting revenge. Two - that their friendship was now ruined beyond repair because she was certain that Santana could never be able forgive her for what she's done._

_She was wrong on both assumptions. Santana never told a soul, and to Quinn's surprise, Santana was there for her when Finn found her secret out._

_Quinn was at the auditorium bawling her eyes out when Santana sat beside her and handed her a tissue. "What do you want, Santana? I don't need you to rub this all in my face right now," she snapped at Santana, even though she did accept the tissue and began wiping her tears away with it._

_"I know," Santana nodded. "I saw you while I was passing by the auditorium and thought I'd check on how you are."_

_"My family cast me away. The love of my life hates my guts. And my best friend hasn't spoken a word to me in weeks. How would you be?"_

_"Pretty awful," Santana said, raising an eyebrow._

_Quinn sneered. "You think?"_

_Santana breathed out a sigh. She held Quinn's hand and squeezed it. "Quinn, I don't know why I'm saying this, but if you need a place to stay, I just want you to know that you can room with me."_

_It didn't escape Santana that Quinn's eyes lit up upon hearing those words. "Are you for real?"_

_Santana chuckled. "Yes. For real. Now that Finn knows, I figured it would be awkward if you remain there with him."_

_The mention of Finn brought a fresh load of tears to Quinn's already swollen eyes._

_"Hey... come on..." Santana drew close and wrapped her arms around Quinn in a warm embrace. "It's going to be okay," she soothed._

_They stayed that way until Quinn's sobs subsided. After she got a hold of herself, she couldn't stop herself from asking. "Are you sure I can room with you?"_

_Santana nodded as she smiled reassuringly. "Yes. I'm sure. Though I'm warning you... Mama gets drunk a lot, so she probably won't even notice that you're there. Plus the boys can be really rowdy at times," Santana explained, referring to her three younger brothers, "If you're okay with all that, then yes... you can room with me."_

_"That's fine. Thanks, Santana," Quinn said pensively, staring at Santana as if she were trying to figure out if it were a joke. "I'm sorry, but why are you doing this for me?"_

_Santana shrugged. "I don't know, Q," she said, using her nickname for Quinn. "Maybe because I figured you're already suffering through enough with everything that's been going on. Because I know that you need help." _

_Quinn smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot. I really missed you."_

_Santana smiled back, but quickly raised her eyebrows. "Hey. For the record, this doesn't mean that I've forgiven you about Puck."_

_Quinn bit her lip. "I understand."_

_Santana clasped her hands. "But I guess we'll get there eventually."_

_"That's good enough for me," Quinn replied, hope evident in her eyes._

_"And I missed you too. I love hanging out with Brit - don't get me wrong - but it would really be great to get some intelligent girl conversation back in my life."_

_Quinn laughed. "We'll do that then."_

_"Awesome," Santana smiled._

_

* * *

_

Saturday. Early morning. Quinn's bungalow.

Quinn flipped the pancake over the stove before turning toward Santana, who was leaning over the kitchen counter, animatedly telling her about the events that happened at Synch the night before.

Despite being busy with preparing breakfast, she was hanging on to Santana's every word - especially when Santana got to the part about Puck winning the auction and kissing her.

"First of all," Quinn reacted, "what is he doing carrying around 1500 dollars cash? That's crazy."

Santana grinned, her eyes widening in amazement. "I know right? It's so stupid. The dude's whack."

A sly smile crossed Quinn's lips. "He kissed you, Ana. Come on... admit it... You liked it, didn't you?"

Santana scowled. "Oh please... he was so drunk, Q. I could immediately tell the moment he got on top of the bar and kissed me."

"Yeah right. Drunk or not, you liked it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be emphasizing every now and then that he kissed you," Quinn reiterated teasingly.

"What?!" Santana burst. "I am so not emphasizing that..."

"Whatever," Quinn interrupted, rolling her eyes as she placed the pancake on a plate and served it to Santana. "Nothing you say can convince me that Puck kissing you had no effect on you whatsoever."

Santana stuck her tongue out at Quinn

"Wow. That's mature. What are you? In kindergarten?" Quinn laughed. "Anyway, so what happened next?"

Santana rolled her eyes and harrumphed before continuing to go over the rest of what happened...

* * *

His breath wreaked of alcohol. She was attempting to push him away but he was much stronger than she was. When their lips parted, Santana drew a breath - still quite in shock.

With his arms still wrapped around her waist, he whispered to her ear, "Hey, Santana." A boyish smirk was on his face. "You dumped me in high school because you said I couldn't afford you."

Santana pulled away from him, curious that he would bring that certain memory up.

In his drunkenness, he gave her a goofy grin before exclaiming triumphantly, "Now, I just bought you!"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she nodded and tapped his chest lightly. "That's great, Puck. Yay for you."

"High school people always call me Puck," he muttered, thinking out loud.

Ignoring him, she turned her head toward the crowd (now focused on the waitresses) to find Matt, Mike and Brittany weaving their way past the crowd to make it to her. She mouthed 'he's so drunk' to Matt.

'I can tell,' Matt mouthed back.

Puck almost lost his balance, snapping Santana to attention as she tried to support him. She called Brad over. "Help us down," she instructed him and he willingly obliged, helping Santana get down from the bar first.

"Hey," Puck began to protest as he eyed Brad jealously from on top of the bar. "You're supposed to be with me, Santana. Not with him."

"Yeah," Santana nodded patiently. "I'll be with you as soon as you get down from there, so come on..."

Puck creased his brows and looked around him. He looked completely lost. He looked back at her. "You want me to go down there?"

Santana patronizingly nodded and smiled.

"But you're so far down below..."

Before Santana could say anything, he completely lost his balance and fell backwards - just in time for Matt and Mike to catch him from the other side of the bar.

"Damn... he's heavy," Mike complained as they helped Puck get back up on his feet.

"Chang!" Puck exclaimed, before looking the other way to see Matt. "Whoa! Matt! This is like some kind of high school dream..."

Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head, before glancing at Mike. "Let's just get him outside."

"Hey wait," Puck protested loudly. "Where's Santana? Did you know I just paid 1500 bucks for her?"

"Yeah, man. She's already outside," Matt lied, motioning Santana to meet them outside.

Santana nudged at Brittany, who was now standing beside her.

"Yeah?" Brittany asked her blankly.

"Let's go outside."

"What? But I just got here," Brittany frowned. "I haven't even seen you dance yet," she said looking at Haley who was dancing on top of the bar.

"Tell you what," Santana tried to compromise, just wanting to get out of the bar. "I'll dance outside."

Brittany broke into a smile. "Okay," she nodded.

They made their way out - which proved to be a difficult feat considering the number of people packed inside the place.

The three men were already outside when they got there, and Puck looked pretty pissed that Santana wasn't there like Matt said she was.

"Santana!" he exclaimed upon seeing her. He broke free from Matt and Mike who were both holding on to him to keep him from falling over. He bounded forward to Santana, wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her around, driving both of them off balance. It was a good thing Matt and Mike caught either of them just in time to keep them from falling on the ground.

"Thanks," Santana told Mike, who had been the one to catch her. "Wonder how many times you'll need to catch Puck tonight. What an oaf," she mumbled.

The two guys chuckled in response.

"Hey, Santana..." Puck drawled, pushing Matt away, and laying his arm over her shoulder. "You look really gorgeous, baby."

"You're drunk," she told him flatly, stating the obvious.

"No, I'm not," Puck denied, an offended look on his face. "I really think you look hot... hey... come on... stop spinning." The confused frown on his face was priceless. It took everything for Santana not to double over in laughter.

Matt and Mike were already snickering. Brittany, on the other hand, was staring at Puck as if she were watching a show, curiously waiting on what was going to happen next. Santana was almost tempted to offer her popcorn.

"Dude, let's get you home," Mike offered, placing a hand on Puck's shoulder.

Puck brushed his hand away. "What? Home? No, man. I haven't even had sex with Santana yet." He raised his forefinger as if he were making a point. "And I totally paid."

That statement made Santana bite her lip.

Matt scowled. "Puck, the auction is for a date with Santana, not sex. Besides, you're too drunk for a date. And come on... this is Santana we're talking about."

"Why does everyone keep on saying I'm drunk?" Puck asked, looking irritated. "I'm not drunk, and yeah... it's Santana. She's like synonymous to sex. Right, Santana?"

Santana's jaw tightened. She didn't like where this was going. "Puck, you're drunk. Go home. Matt will refund your money and take you home."

Matt was about to protest. "What? Refund the -"

"Right, Matt?" Santana widened her eyes at him.

"Ugh. Fine. Refund," Matt conceded. "You'll get your money back, dude."

Puck creased his brows and frowned. "I don't want it back. I wanna get laid. This is such a rip off. You all suck." He had a deadpan expression on his face as he began to walk away from them.

"Puck, you can't..." Santana began to say.

"Don't come near me," he muttered, pushing the guys (trying to hold him back) away. He then bumped into a woman who had just walked out of the bar. "Hey, lady. Wanna have sex?"

The woman - a frequent Synch customer - giggled and nodded.

They all tried to stop him but to no avail. The car he got on drove away, each of them watched helplessly, looking dumbfounded.

Brittany looked at Santana and broke the awkward silence. "Hey. I thought you said you were going to dance."

* * *

At that point, Quinn was already doubling over in hysterical laughter and Santana was chuckling right along with her.

"Trust Brit to break the ice," Quinn retorted, starting to place their now empty breakfast plates on the dishwasher.

"Are you kidding? I wanted to whack her on the head," Santana admitted.

Quinn laughed a little more before asking. "So you just allowed Puck to leave with that stranger?"

"We couldn't stop him! Believe me… we tried," Santana said convincingly. "He's a grown man. He'll be fine. Besides, she looked pretty harmless. She's probably thrilled that she got to go out with a stud like Puck without having to win an auction."

"You're not worried about him at all?" Quinn questioned knowingly.

"I don't know… should I be? I mean, come on… I haven't seen the guy since graduation. It's not like he's the same guy I fell in love with in high school."

Quinn smiled. "Fell in love with?"

Santana's eyes grew wide open before she blushed. "Oh, come on… you know what I mean."

Quinn creased her brows and shook her head. "Actually, I don't. What do you mean, Ana?"

Santana pouted and threw a crumpled piece of table napkin at Quinn. "Will you drop it? I can't believe this… Noah Puckerman comes back to town one night and we're acting like high school teenagers."

"Well, you're the one who can't get over him kissing you…" Quinn shrugged, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Oh, you are pushing it, Quinn Edwards," Santana said through gritted teeth, but she was aware of the heated blush on her cheeks.

"You can say whatever you want, Santana Lopez," Quinn expressed, putting a little attitude into her words, "I will still think that you want Noah Puckerman... badly."

"Mommy?"

Quinn and Santana turned their heads to find Zach, the first of Quinn's three-year-old twins, standing by the kitchen counter in his pajama, rubbing his eyes with one hand, clutching a stuffed panda with the other. Santana wanted to hug the little tyke for saving her from Quinn's prying over Puck.

"Hey, honey," Quinn cooed, motioning for her little boy to come close to her. "Want some breakfast?"

The toddler nodded as he trudged toward his mother, dragging his stuffed animal on the floor. "Hi, Ana..." he greeted Santana - a frequent visitor in the Edwards' residence - as Quinn placed him on his high chair.

"Hey, Zach," Santana greeted back, tapping his nose with her finger. "Where's Zoe?" she asked, referring to his twin sister.

He drowsily pointed toward their bedroom.

Santana creased her brows and turned to Quinn. "He seems low on energy."

Quinn smiled as she set a bowl of cereal in front of Zach. "He's like this every morning. Wait until he finishes breakfast. I promise you he'll be all over the place."

Santana loved watching the way Quinn was with her kids. She had no idea how Quinn was able to pull off taking care of the two rowdy little tykes all day long and still keep their home squeaky clean, but Quinn pulled it off well, and she seemed happy doing it.

After high school, the original plan was for Quinn to go with the four of them to California, but her parents insisted that she go to Ohio State. Having only reconciled with her parents in their junior year, Quinn wanted to get back to her parents' good graces, so she did what they wanted her to do.

However, a few months in and she quickly realized that she wasn't going to get anywhere in college. Without her parents' knowledge, she dropped out of school and auditioned for a spot as a cheerleader for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and made it to the squad.

That's where she met the basketball team's point guard, Chase Edwards. By the time her parents found out that she abandoned her studies, she was already dating the basketball star for almost a year and he had already proposed to her. With this news, her parents seemed to quickly forgive that she had been fooling them into believing that she was still in college all along. They insisted that they settle in Lima, to which Chase seemed to not have a problem with.

After over a year of dating, they got married, bought a huge bungalow in Lima and fresh out of their honeymoon, Quinn was already pregnant with the twins. She seemed to quickly adjust to her lifestyle as a mother and a housewife, although it was tough at first with Chase always out of town especially during basketball season.

Santana could still remember the long phone conversations she had with Quinn when she was in LA, listening to her best friend vent out her frustrations. When she told Quinn that she was moving back to Lima, Quinn practically had her welcome banner done the moment they hung up.

"Ana!"

Santana's thoughts were broken by little Zoe's squeals. "Zoe!" she squealed back, reaching her arms out toward the little girl running to her. Holding Zoe in her arms, she retorted, "You seem hyper this morning."

"Zoe, on the other hand, will tone down after she gets breakfast," Quinn explained, setting Zoe's food in front of her high chair before Santana placed the beaming toddler on it.

"You know your kids so well," Santana told Quinn appreciatively.

Quinn chuckled. "I think I have to, considering that I'm with them all day every day."

Santana understood more than anyone else why Quinn was such a great mom. She had stood witness to how much Quinn changed from the time she had given her and Puck's daughter away for adoption. Quinn matured quicker than any of them did. Santana would listen quietly whenever Quinn would say that she regretted giving the baby away and that she wanted nothing more than to become a good wife and a good mother. Santana thought Quinn was crazy back then. This is, after all, the twenty-first century - what kind of woman would dream of becoming a housewife?! But then, looking at Quinn's life at this point of their lives, Santana was happy for her best friend. Quinn seemed satisfied.

"Hey," Quinn interrupted her thoughts. "Maybe we could host a get-together here. Dinner. Tomorrow night. It would be great with so many of the glee clubbers in town. Tell Matt, Mike and Brit to come over. I'll call Artie up to ask if he can join. Puck too... if he's still around."

Santana beamed. "That's great! After everything that happened last night, I was barely able to catch up with Mike and Brit. This would be a great way to find out about what's happening to everyone. It's like a mini-glee reunion."

"I love the sound of that." Quinn smiled before pausing and looking at Santana thoughtfully. "I hope Puck could come."

Santana glared at her suspiciously. "Why's that?"

"I haven't seen him in ages - unless you count the paparazzi photos we saw online with him and his model girlfriend."

Santana couldn't hide the scowl on her face at the mention of the photos. The paparazzi was actually photographing Elena St. Martin - heiress, socialite and part-time model - not him, but since she was rumored to be dating a celebrated fashion photographer - Puck - he was also on the photos and the thought of it always left a bad taste in Santana's mouth.

Quinn had a twinkle in her eyes. "See... I told you you're not over him. The scowl on your face says it all."

Santana groaned. "Here we go again..."

Truth be told, if she was to be honest with herself, she still was madly attracted to Puck. Seeing him the night before had awakened emotions in her that she thought she'd long killed, but she really had to get a grip of reality. _He dates models for crying out loud. He's probably a far cry from the Puck I knew in high school._

Still, no matter what Santana told herself, the thought of seeing him again excited her. But she would never admit that. Not to anyone. Not even to Quinn. No one could know that after all these years, she still wasn't over Noah Puckerman.

_

* * *

_

_**A/N: More Puck, less Santana on the next chapter... :D R&R. ;)  
**_


	4. Photograph

_**A/N: **Finally! Got myself to write and upload this chapter. Hope you enjoy._

* * *

**Photograph**

_For this chapter's flashback, refer to the first three chapters of my other story, NY Puckleberry. It's the story of how Puck ended up as a fashion photographer. It also sheds light on what happened to Kurt and Mercedes after graduation. If you're not interested in reading that story and are willing to settle with "Noah Puckerman became one of New York's most celebrated fashion photographers and has been dating supermodels and heiresses." That's cool too. ^_^_

* * *

Puck cringed.

Emerald eyes were blazing at him as Matt parked the SUV in front of Puck's house. He knew that he had a lot of explaining to do to his younger sister, Debra, and he was completely not in the mood for it.

"Puck!" she exclaimed as he got off the vehicle.

To his surprise, she ran straight to his arms, hugging him tight. Puck took a step back as he looked at his sister with questioning eyes.

The seventeen-year-old brunette was smiling at him. She looked different… more mature than she did when he last saw her a year or so ago when she and their mom visited him in New York.

"Hey, Deb," he greeted her warmly, genuinely glad to see her.

Debra then turned to Matt, who just got off the car. He nodded her way to acknowledge her. She smiled at him before returning her focus toward Puck. With no warning signs whatsoever, she hit him hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! Deb! What the –" Puck growled. "Schizophrenic much?"

"I'm glad to see you home, Noah Puckerman, because let's face it… it's been ages since you last visited Lima. But that does not excuse the fact that you came home without as much as announcing your presence to either mom or me, snuck into my room, took my car keys and drove off to heaven knows where," she shot at him. "I'm 17… sneaking out in the middle of the night is my job. You're supposed to be the adult here."

"At least I texted you that I had the car," Puck defended, before hesitating. "Wait. You sneak out on mom? Deb…"

"No, I don't sneak out on mom. Unlike you, I'm actually a responsible teen-" Debra scowled. "Wait a minute… no way… you don't get to change the topic and start acting like my older brother."

"I _am _your older brother," Puck pointed out, an amused smile forming on his face.

She grimaced in a way that Puck found absolutely cute. "Yeah? Well, that's not the point. Anyway, back to your text message… how very thoughtful of you. Thanks for that," she said sarcastically before hitting him again.

This time, Puck only rolled his eyes, muttering the word _teenagers_ under his breath.

"Speaking of my car, where is it?" Debra piped up, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Puck cringed again. The truth was he could barely remember where he left the car. Waking up in that strange woman's house was enough of a shock. He had his jeans on so he figured – or hoped – that nothing happened. She was nice enough to make him breakfast and they had a few awkward exchange of words before she let him make a call. He called on Matt to pick him up, and that's how he ended up back home, wondering how to explain everything to his teenage sister. He scratched his head and looked at Matt for help.

Matt chuckled. "It's in my bar's parking lot. Don't worry, Deb. It's fine."

Debra gave her older brother a scowl, and in response, Puck flashed a toothy grin at her. "Why is it that I can't stay mad at you for too long?" she bemoaned.

"Maybe because your older brother is irresistible, charming…"

Debra rolled her eyes as he listed down his oh-so-wonderful qualities. When he was done, she stared right at him and said, "Uhm, no. It really is just a mystery."

To that, Matt rolled over in laughter. Even Puck couldn't help but grin. "Missed you, Deb."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Before anything else could be said, an old convertible drove to a stop behind Matt's car.

Puck looked at the car curiously before noticing the bright smile on his sister's face. Matt, on the other hand, had "uh-oh" written all over his face as a familiar face got off the car and walked over to them.

To Puck's surprise, Debra gave the newcomer a peck on the lips before looking back at Puck. "Puck, this is my boyfriend, Carlos. Carlos, this is my older brother, Puck. And of course, you both know Matt over there."

Puck wanted to introduce the guy's face to his knuckles, but simply stared at the teenager's extended hand, refusing to shake it just to show his disdain. "You're familiar. Have I met you before?" he asked Carlos.

"Well, you used to date my older sister, Santana," Carlos shrugged.

Puck felt like he'd just been punched in the gut. "You're Santana's brother? You were asking me for tips on how to pick up girls when you were like 11 or something…"

Debra's mouth dropped open.

Carlos blushed. "You sure that was me? Not my older brother, Eli?"

"Oh, that was you… Santana's other brother was much more…" Puck tried to find a substitute for the word _geeky _and settled with "studious. You didn't try the tips that I gave you on my own sister, did you?" Puck crossed his arms over his chest and tried to look as intimidating as he could, which was easy for him to do considering how well-built he was.

"No, sir," Carlos shook his head.

"We met at glee club actually after ignoring each other for most of our lives," Debra explained. "And as much as we love explaining ourselves to you and as thrilling as it is to watch you intimidate us, we have glee practice to go to." She turned toward Carlos. "Let's go?"

Glad to escape the rather awkward situation he found himself in, Carlos willingly obliged.

Before Puck could object, Debra was instructing him to have her car back home (or else) and that Carlos will drive her back home that night. Puck shot a glare at Matt when the couple was finally gone. "Have I been away from Lima _that _long? When did this happen?"

Matt shrugged, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I am staying out of this," he declared.

"Whatever. If that kid does anything to hurt Deb, I swear…" Puck couldn't hide how much it was bothering him that his sister was dating his ex-girlfriend's brother. "Damn it. Santana and I have got a lot to talk about."

Matt grinned. "Oh yeah… A lot… so much more than you think."

Puck looked pointedly at Matt. "What exactly happened last night?"

"I'm meeting up with Mike and Brit for lunch. Think you can gather yourself together in fifteen minutes so you can join us? I'll fill you in on what exactly happened last night on the way to the restaurant, and if you're still interested in talking to Santana, I'll tell you where you can find her after lunch."

Puck debated with himself if he was going to choose this over sleep, and finally decided. "Fine."

* * *

Lunch was fun to say the least. Puck had to admit that he enjoyed catching up with his high school friends.

He found it quite interesting that Mike and Brittany were still going steady after all these years. They were a fun couple to watch just because neither one of them was afraid to make total fools out of themselves. They were who they were, and made no apologies for it. Puck liked that.

Of course, lunch could not go by without the group teasing Puck over his coyote ugly moment. Puck tried to avoid having to explain why he was in Lima, why he was carrying around that much cash – thankfully refunded by Matt – and why he was so drunk. With the group being in such a fun mood, that was easy to do as they were all very much willing to avoid talking about anything similar to angst.

Puck also had to admit that Matt was right when he said that he had a lot more to talk to Santana about than he thought.

"It's Santana… It's not like I haven't acted like a total jerk around her before," he had defended himself.

Only to receive a concerned look from their friends.

"You might be surprised at how much Santana has changed, man," Matt said.

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "She's certainly not the same Santana you knew back in high school."

Brittany nodded as she continued to take a long sip from her strawberry shake.

Puck sighed. "Fine. I'll go see her and apologize. But come on… it's Santana… not the virgin Mary."

To that, the three of them only grinned at him.

Which Puck found weird.

When he parked Debra's car in front of the address that Matt gave him, he blew out a sigh. He really didn't know what he was going to say to Santana. If she has changed as much as they say she did, then she would now be a total stranger to him.

Expecting to find a house when he looked out the car's window, he was surprised to find a dance studio, evidenced by the large sign in front of the structure. _Ana Lopez - Dance Studio. _

Grabbing his camera (which was now filled with goofy pictures of Mike, Brit and Matt), he got off the car and went inside the studio. There was no one to greet him and the place seemed relatively empty except for the sound of soft music playing..

Following the music, he saw Santana from the clear glass window that separated the hall from a dance studio.

The sight of her as she danced to the soft music, with her eyes closed, just letting the music carry her, took his breath away.

Never before had he seen Santana Lopez looking so peaceful, so serene, so graceful... so beautiful.

Without a moment's hesitation, Puck took hold of his camera and began snapping pictures of her.

Puck thought that he already knew everything about Santana Lopez. He realized at that moment that he was wrong.

* * *

**_A/N: Do leave a review. For one, suggest a better name for the dance studio. O.O _**

**_Or message me on what you like (or don't like) about the story so far. Thanks!_**


	5. Ballerina

_**A/N: **I really am beginning to hope (even more so now than before) that Santana gets more exposure on the show... :(_

_**Warning:** On the flashback... Angst. Lots of it._

* * *

**Ballerina**

_"Do you really think I can become a prima ballerina someday, Papa?" Seven-year-old Santana asked as she walked across the parking lot alongside her father, her hands holding on tightly to his._

_"Think?" Anton Lopez raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his little girl. "Mija, I know."_

_Santana smiled. "Miss Priscilla says so too," she announced smugly as her father opened the car door and lifted her onto the car seat._

_"Is that your new ballet teacher?" he asked as he helped her fasten her seatbelt._

_She nodded. "She says that you knew each other from before, Papa."_

_Anton smiled. "Yes. We sure did. We've been good friends since high school. You should tell your Mama about her. I'm sure she would like to hear about how Priscilla is doing now."_

_"I'll tell Mama as soon as we get home!" Santana resolved._

_"That's my girl," he said, brushing his hand over her head, before closing the car door and getting on the driver seat._

_"I love you, Papa," Santana said as he made himself comfortable._

_"I love you too, mija."_

_Santana adored her father. Almost everyone they knew did._

_There was something about Anton Lopez that made people immediately take a liking to him. He had a wit and charm about him that made people feel at ease when they were around him. And Santana loved that about him._

_She loved knowing that she was Anton's little girl. She was her daddy's girl and she was darn proud of it._

_Anton spoiled her rotten. She was his princess. He was especially proud of how much she excelled in ballet. He was present at every single one of her performances, cheering her on. Santana pushed herself to do better if only to make him proud of her. Her natural talent and love for dancing made that easy to do._

_It was the summer before her seventh grade in school when all that changed. It was the sumemr that turned her world upside down._

_Santana and Brittany had just spent the night at Quinn's house, gushing over the boys at school, giggling over Quinn's summer crush, generally doing what twelve-year-old girls do on a sleepover. The morning after, they were just finishing breakfast when Quinn's mom came to tell them that Santana's dad called to say that he won't be able to pick her up and asked if the Fabrays could drive her home instead._

_"Is that okay with you, Santana?" Quinn's mom asked._

_"No problem with me, Mrs. F.," Santana replied._

_Quinn turned to her. "What's up with your dad, Ana? He's been bailing out on you a lot lately."_

_Santana furrowed her brows, and frowned defensively. "I'm sure he's just busy with work or something."_

_Quinn nodded. "Yeah... maybe... It's just so unlike him."_

_Santana didn't respond. She hated to admit that Quinn was right. Her dad had been coming up with lots of excuses for not spending time at home or with her lately. She chose to shrug the thought off, and turned to Quinn's mom. "Mrs. F., do you think we can drop by my ballet school? I need to pick up some stuff that I left there yesterday."_

_"Sure, sweetie. That's no problem. Quinn, are you coming with me to drop Santana and Brit off to their homes?"_

_"Of course I am, mom," Quinn responded as if her mom should've known that by then._

_Later, the girls got settled on the Fabrays' car - talking non-stop about everything and nothing._

_When they arrived at the dance school, Santana quickly got off the car and headed toward the studio. Quinn and Brittany, not wanting to wait in the car, trailed behind her._

_Quinn and Brittany were fooling around a few dozen steps behind Santana when Quinn stopped with concern upon seeing Santana's face pale with shock. _

_"Ana, what's wrong?" Quinn asked, walking toward her best friend, who was standing in front of the dance studio's door._

_Santana didn't respond. She didn't even hear Quinn. She was paralyzed by the shock of seeing something that a twelve-year-old should never have to see. She just walked in on her father having sex with her ballet instructor - right in the middle of the dance studio._

_"Santana..." was all Anton could say when he saw his daughter's stunned face._

_For the first time in her life, Santana felt ashamed that she was her father's daughter. She hated that Quinn and Brittany was right there to see this. It tore her apart._

_All she could do was turn to her best friends and say, "Let's go. Let's just please go."_

_Nothing could describe the way that Santana felt as the rest of the nightmare unfolded, sweeping her along as an unwilling victim._

_When they arrived at the Lopez's residence, Santana's mother was more than concerned to see the blank stare on her usually cheerful countenance._

_It was Quinn who hesitantly explained to her mother what just happened. By the time Brittany and the Fabrays left, Santana's mom had the same dazed look that she had._

_Quinn and Brittany stayed on the phone with Santana all afternoon. There were moments when they would try to say something to soothe her, but most of the time, all three of them were quiet, just listening to Santana's sobs. They knew that no words could be said to make things better. They just wanted Santana to know that they were there for her._

_By the time her father arrived home, the sun was down and Santana had already ran out of tears. That was when she said goodbye to her friends and hung up, filled with dread about what was to happen._

_She wrapped her arms around her legs as she heard her mother begin screaming at her father._

_It wasn't long after the screaming started that nine-year-old Elias and six-year-old Carlos stepped tentatively inside her room. _

_"Ana?" Carlos whimpered, the uncertainty evident in his tone of voice._

_None of them were used to hearing their parents fight._

_Santana tapped the empty space on the bed on either side of her, motioning for her brothers to sit beside her. The boys quickly did so._

_All three of them sat in silence as they heard their father scream, "That's it! I'm done. It's over!" somewhere along his heated exchange of words with their mother. Those words cut them to the core. That was when Santana felt Elias' hand clasp into hers, and in turn, Santana took Carlos' small trembling hand in hers._

_They sat there, hands clasped together, and listened as the thumps and thuds of suitcases hitting the floor and closets being emptied filled the air. That was when Carlos began to cry, and Elias soon followed suit. Santana held back her tears. She wanted to stay strong for the three of them._

_They sat there expectantly awaiting their father to show up at the bedroom door to give them some sort of awkward explanation or perhaps even a simple farewell, but their heart sank when they heard the front door slam shut and the sound of his car driving off._

_Their father left without saying goodbye._

_That was when Santana cried. _

_Anton was the first man to break Santana's heart._

_The boys spent the rest of the night at their older sister's bedroom. Their mother didn't even bother to check on them. _

_Santana woke up the next morning a different person. The sight of her two brothers' tear-stricken faces as they slept on her bed and the image of her mother passed out on the kitchen floor - completely drunk - were forever etched on her mind. That morning, Santana promised three things to herself:_

_One, she would be strong for herself and her brothers._

_Two, she would never let a man break her heart the way her father broke her mother's - so much so that it broke her spirit._

_Three, she would never dance ballet again._

* * *

More than ten years later, it seemed Santana broke that last promise, because a certain Noah Puckerman found himself standing outside her dance studio, thinking, _Santana Lopez dances ballet and she does it perfectly._ _How could I have missed this?_

Transfixed by the beauty of watching her body flow with such grace and precision, carried away by the rhythm of the soft music playing, Puck snapped photo after photo of her. She took on one magnificent form after another, almost hypnotizing him with this trancelike display of grace.

It wasn't until a little hand began tugging on his shirt that Puck diverted his attention away from Santana.

"Hey, mister," a voice called on him.

He looked down to find a little blonde girl staring up at him with stunning green eyes - the shade of which he thought only his sister, Debra, had. The little girl was wearing leotards and a tutu, so Puck quickly concluded that she was a student there. "Hey, kid."

"My name is Madeline," she huffed indignantly. "I don't like being called kid."

"Yeah?" Puck said, a grin forming on his face. "My name's Noah. I don't like being called mister."

She wrinkled her nose and looked at him as if she were scrutinizing him.

Puck, on the other hand, was wondering if her parents ever told her not to talk to strangers.

"Okay, _Noah,_" she said, emphasizing his name. "Why are you taking photos of Miss Ana?"

Apparently not. Puck made a mental note to tell Santana about this before opening his mouth to answer the child.

However, he wasn't able to, because a sneaky grin formed on her small face. "Are you her boyfriend?"

If she didn't look so cute and adorable, he would've found her nosiness creepy. "No..." Puck smirked. "I'm just a friend."

"Oh," she frowned, disappointment in her face. "I think you two will look good together though."

Puck creased his brows, now looking at Madeline with pure amusement. "Oh, you think so, do you?"

"I know so," she asserted with all the conviction a seven-year-old could muster, and then as if in a sudden shift of mood, she perked up, placed one hand on her waist, raised a hip slightly, looked up at him and said, "Hey, Noah... If I let you be my friend, will you take a picture of me too?"

One look at those big green puppydog eyes and Puck quickly decided that Madeline had the ability to charm her way into getting whatever it was she wanted. And he figured that it was either she wasn't quite aware of that yet or she was downplaying that knowledge, because if he had the same charm she had, he'd be asking for more than just a picture. "Hmm..." he said, feigning giving the idea some thought. "If I take pictures of you, do you promise never to talk to strangers again?"

She squinted her eyes at him. "Won't that mean I can't _ever_ talk to you again?"

"But you said that if I take a picture of you, you'll let me be your friend, so I won't be a stranger anymore, will I?" Puck raised an eyebrow knowingly at her, amused by the fact that he was trying to reason out with a kid.

"Hmm..." Madeline mused. "You're smart. It's a deal then, Noah," she said, shaking his hand and posing for a photo.

Puck took several pictures of her before showing her the images on the camera's screen.

"May I see the ones you took of Miss Ana?" she asked, her eyes bright with expectation.

He obliged, showing her several of the shots he took of Santana.

"She looks really beautiful on that one," Madeline commented on one particular photo.

"She does, doesn't she?" he agreed.

"I like the way the light hits her face," she mused quietly.

As a photographer, Puck was impressed that someone as young as her would notice something like that.

"Puck? Madeline? What do you two have in there?"

Puck raised his eyes to find Santana standing by the studio's door, a curious smile on her face.

"Pictures of me!" Madeline exclaimed. "And you too!"

"Oh?" Santana looked quizzically at the youngster.

Madeline nodded animatedly. "You look really pretty too. This is my new friend, Noah. I found him taking pictures of you while you were dancing. He seems safe to me, Miss Ana. Although I think he has a crush on you."

At that, Puck smirked. _This kid has trouble written all over her._

"Oh, you do, don't you?" Santana chuckled. "You and your imagination... Anyway, why don't you go warm up while I talk to your new friend over here. Your classmates will arrive any time now."

Madeline waved a hand goodbye at Puck before doing what her teacher told her without as much as a single objection.

Santana then shifted her attention to Puck, who was running his hand over his shaved head, smiling at her.

"You were taking pictures of me?" she asked.

Puck arched a brow and smirked. "Come on... I had too."

"You did?"

"How could I not?" he defended. "Santana Lopez. Dancing ballet. And with perfect technique too..."

Santana raised an eyebrow at him. "How would you know perfect technique when you see it?"

"One too many ballet shows with Rachel," he explained.

He didn't miss the sympathetic look Santana shot him when he mentioned Rachel.

He figured that he should be used to that by now, but he wasn't, so he quickly changed the subject, trying not to sound too annoyed. "Anyway, I just came over after having lunch with Matt, Mike and Brit. They told me about what happened last night, and uh... well, I came to check on how you are."

Santana laughed lightly at the embarrassed look on his face. "I'm fine, Puck. I'm not the one who drove off with a total stranger last night. Totally drunk too. What was up with you? First time we see you in Lima for who knows how long and you show up too drunk to function."

Puck smiled bitterly. "Yeah... I'd rather not talk about the drunk part really... if you don't mind."

"That's alright," Santana nodded her head and pursed her lips. "But hey... for all it's worth, it's good to see you back home, Puck."

"It's good to be home," Puck nodded, realizing just how much he missed the familiarity of his hometown.

An awkward silence ensued. Puck wasn't quite used to exchanging pleasantries with Santana, so he figured he'd break the silence by handling a conversation with Santana the only way he knew how. He smirked and said, "So... uh, did you miss me?"

Santana creased her brows as if trying to assess him, but a sly smile formed on her face. "Maybe..."

"Any chance you'll get auctioned off at Synch again? Maybe then I can buy some time with you when I'm not so drunk anymore..."

"Are you seriously trying to hit on me, Puckerman?" A hint of her old sassy self began to arise.

"Maybe..." Puck grinned. "Is it working?"

"Maybe," Santana shrugged with one shoulder. "But as for the auction, no chance that's ever going to happen again... You missed out big time last night."

He feigned a sigh. "I did, didn't I? And I was so hoping that I could get the chance to make out with you again."

She rolled her eyes as she stepped closer to him, the camera being the only thing that kept their bodies apart. Her brown eyes looked straight into his green ones.

Puck suddenly became completely aware of how those leotards were hugging her slim frame in just the right places. After all these years, he couldn't deny that Santana still had that same strong effect on him.

She leaned over and whispered to his ear, her warm breath tingling his senses. "If you take me out to coffee sometime, you just might get what you're hoping for."

Puck grinned. Perhaps not that much has changed with Santana after all. "You got yourself a deal, Lopez. Coffee after your class?"

"Perfect." Santana stepped away from him, and as if that heated moment didn't happen, she smiled sweetly at him and abruptly changed topic. "By the way, I was at Quinn's this morning. She was wondering if you could go have dinner with us at her place tomorrow night. All glee clubbers who are in town are invited. Kind of like a mini-glee reunion."

Puck paused for a moment before responding, trying to shift his thoughts from the idea of kissing her to attempting to comprehend what she just said. "Uhm... yeah... that sounds cool. I'll be there, but give me a ride, will you? I doubt Deb will let me..." Puck stopped at the thought of his sister. "Speaking of Deb, did you know she's dating..."

"Carlos? You found out about that already?"

He nodded, surprised at her nonchalance.

"Well, yeah," Santana nodded. "They've been dating for a couple of months now."

"You don't find that weird at all?"

She shrugged. "At first, yes, knowing that she's your sister and all, but it's their life. And they got great chemistry. You should see them perform together in glee."

"You've seen them perform?" Puck asked curiously.

She nodded. "I help Artie with the choreography. I've seen them perform dozens of times. Anyway, lighten up. Relax. Let them be."

To that, Puck just harrumphed.

Santana grinned. "But hey... I do have to warn you that if Debra does anything to hurt my brother, I may have to forget that we're friends and rough her up a little bit," she said jokingly bumping her fists together.

"No way... I should be the one saying that about Carlos..."

She laughed. "I was joking! I was just trying to beat you to the threats that I know you'll eventually spout out about my brother. Relax, handsome."

A smirk formed on his face at the word handsome. He flicked his brows at her before winking. "You still want me, don't you?"

Rolling her eyes, she lifted both hands as if to ward him off before saying, "Whoa there. Slow down. Too much ego going on."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw more girls milling in for their dance class.

Following her gaze, Puck stepped closer to her. "So I guess I'll just have to flirt with you after class, huh, Lopez?"

Santana smiled and wrinkled her nose. "Looking forward to it, Puckerman."

With that, she turned her back on him.

Puck allowed his gaze to go over her perfect contours before he called her name just as she was entering the studio. "Hey. Mind if I watch and snap a few more photos?"

She gave it some thought and shook her head. "Not as long as you give me copies."

He seriously considered to give some smartass comment about people paying him to photograph them, but he just shrugged it off and said,"Deal."

Santana smiled once more and proceeded to make her way inside the studio, wondering to herself if she had made one too many deals with Noah Puckerman for one day.

* * *

_**A/N: **So there ya go... I hope the present-day scenario served to lighten up the aftertaste of angst that the flashback provided._

_Do you think I should raise the rating of the story after that flashback?_

_Anyway, make my day. Fulfill what you were destined to do. Leave a review._


	6. Enigma

_**A/N: **For this chapter's flashback, read my other story "Reflection" (if you haven't already). _

* * *

**Enigma**

Puck could not believe it. Santana just stood him up.

That never happens! Not to him. And more than that, definitely not Santana. _  
_

He had shot a couple of photos of Santana teaching the kids ballet before he figured that he wouldn't be able to stand waiting there for an hour or so to grab coffee with her, so he simply went to the coffee shop and texted her to meet him there.

An hour and a half later, she still hadn't arrived.

A little irritated, Puck took his phone and dialed her number.

"Oh no! Puck! I totally forgot! I am so sorry!" was her trail of frantic responses when she finally picked up her cell.

"I texted you," was all he could say.

"I knoooowwww," she drawled. "It's just that right after I read your text message, Matt showed up with the outfit he promised he'd get me from L.A. He owed me that and a trip to the spa when I agreed to watch over Synch while he was away. And the two of us already made arrangements to go to the spa which I totally forgot when I agreed to have coffee with you. So Matt shows up and reminds me about it telling me that Brit and Mike were going with us, and I haven't spent time with them for such a long time, it made me so excited that I totally forgot about you." She gasped for breath after her ridiculously long explanation, before saying, "Are you mad?"

The truth was that Puck only caught just about every other word from what she said. He got the gist but that wasn't what was bothering him. It took more than a couple of seconds before Puck could respond. "Okay. Who are you and what have you done with the real Santana?"

"Huh?" came a confused voice from the other end of the line.

"Lopez, since when are you this forgetful? And damn... since when are you so talkative?"

"Well, it's not like we've kept in touch for the past five years, Puck. People change you know. I'm sure you have too..."

Puck didn't know what to say to that. Didn't Matt warn him earlier that Santana wasn't the same person she was in high school? The more he thought about it, it wasn't just that Santana stood him up or that she suddenly talks a-mile-a-minute that was bothering him. It was that he was standing him up for Matt. _What was the score with those two anyway?_ Puck couldn't explain the strange feeling the idea of Matt seeing Santana brought him. It was entirely possible that the two had something going on between them. Heaven knows that they had developed quite a close bond ever since they separated ways after high school. So why exactly was this bothering him now?

His thoughts were broken by Santana's voice. "If you want, you could follow us here..." she offered.

He didn't even give it some thought. "No. It's fine, Lopez," he said. The idea of seeing her with Matt was rubbing him the wrong way and it was pissing him off, because it was totally uncalled for and coming out of nowhere. "But you do know that you owe me, right?"

He could totally imagine her face when she said, "I totally do. Puck, I am so sorry. I'll make it up to you... I promise."

For some reason, the idea of her owing him something brought a smile to his face. "So tomorrow at Quinn's, right?"

"Definitely," she responded. "Tomorrow. I'll drop by your house 5-ish?"

"Awesome. Oh and Santana..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm only letting this slide, because I'm expecting you to make out with me tomorrow to make up for this."

He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was smiling when she replied, "We'll just have to see tomorrow, heh, Puckerman?"

"Yeah, yeah..." he said before hanging up. He blew out a sigh. Something was nagging in his mind about whatever it was he was trying to have with Santana, but he sure didn't want to know what that something was and he sure as hell did not want to deal with it.

_Maybe she has changed_, he thought.

Puck grimaced and shrugged it off. He didn't understand the old Santana back in high school. Why would he expect to understand this new Santana he was getting introduced to now?

Let her remain as the enigma that she's always been to him. The mystery that is Santana is part of what turns him on about her anyway.

With that, Puck paid for his coffee, ignoring the thoughts that were plaguing him about his high school ex. Just as he stepped out of the coffee shop and into the open air, a random thought entered his mind - _If Santana is the person who can help me get over Rachel, then so be it._

* * *

_**A/N: **A much shorter chapter than the others - mainly because the flashback is... well, elsewhere. Next chapter will be up soon... I hope.  
_

_Of course, as is tradition in our world of mortals, it is always good to be nice. And what's nice after reading fanfic? Yep. You got it right. Review. ;)  
_


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